Does the group leader matter? The impact of monitoring activities and social ties of group leaders on the repayment performance of groupbased lending Eritrea

This paper analyzes whether the effects of monitoring and social ties of the group leader and other group members on repayment performance of groups differ, using data from an extensive questionnaire held in Eritrea among participants of 102 groups. We hypothesize that the monitoring activities and social ties of the group leader have a stronger positive impact on the repayment performance of groups. The results show that social ties of the group leader do have a positive effect on repayment performance of groups, whereas this is not true for social ties of other group members. We do not find evidence for the hypothesis that monitoring activities of the group leader have a stronger positive impact on group repayment performance. All variables measuring monitoring activities, either of the group leader or the other group members, are found to be statistically insignificant.

Lack of Reduction of Left Ventricular Mass in Treated Hypertension: The Strong Heart Study

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive left ventricular mass (LVM) is expected to decrease during antihypertensive therapy, based on results of clinical trials. METHODS AND RESULTS: We assessed 4‐year change of echocardiographic LVM in 851 hypertensive free‐living participants of the Strong Heart Study (57% women, 81% treated). Variations of 5% or more of the initial systolic blood pressure (SBP) and LVM were categorized for analysis. At baseline, 23% of men and 36% of women exhibited LV hypertrophy (LVH, P<0.0001). At the follow‐up, 3% of men and 10% of women had regression of LVH (P<0.0001 between genders); 14% of men and 15% of women, free of baseline LVH, developed LVH. There was an increase in LVM over time, more in men than in women (P<0.001). Participants whose LVM did not decrease had similar baseline SBP and diastolic BP, but higher body mass index (BMI), waist/hip ratio, heart rate (all P<0.008), and urinary albumin/creatinine excretion (P<0.001) than those whose LVM decreased. After adjusting for field center, initial LVM index, target BP, and kinship degree, lack of decrease in LVM was predicted by higher baseline BMI and urinary albumin/creatinine excretion, independently of classes of antihypertensive medications, and significant effects of older age, male gender, and percentage increase in BP over time. Similar findings were obtained in the subpopulation (n=526) with normal BP at follow‐up. CONCLUSIONS: In a free‐living population, higher BMI is associated with less reduction of hypertensive LVH; lack of reduction of LVM is independent of BP control and of types of antihypertensive treatment, but is associated with renal damage